There is more than one path to clear vision. Significant planning and expertise go into deciding the right approach for each person. Photo: Blink Vision Clinic.
“It’s going great. Your eye is in the perfect position. Keep your breathing relaxed and gentle; don’t hold your breath. Keep your arms and legs by your side. Everything is going well. You’re doing great. And you’re all done.”
Those are the words of gentle coaching from Blink Vision Clinic principal surgeon Dr Richard Barry as he takes a patient through a procedure that generally lasts less than 30 seconds per eye, helping people with certain types of vision problems emerge with significantly improved vision after a short recovery period.
But while the speed and ease of the procedure take many of Dr Barry’s patients by surprise, significant planning and expertise go into deciding the right approach for each person.
As Dr Barry explains, the eye works like a camera. To see clearly, your cornea and lens must focus light precisely onto the macula (the centre of the retina). When the shape of the eye doesn’t match the focal point, vision becomes blurred, and people start seeking help.
Laser eye surgery corrects common problems like short-sightedness, long-sightedness and astigmatism by microscopically reshaping and polishing the cornea to focus light more accurately.
“Most people hear the words ‘laser eye surgery ‘, and they think LASIK, but there are several different procedures, and not all of them involve a laser on the cornea at all,” Dr Barry explains.
“I find it is best to tailor the approach to a person’s eye structures, prescriptions, lifestyle and other considerations.
“By offering a comprehensive refractive surgery service – laser and lens-based – in one place, we can assess patients against the full range of options; not all clinics offer this.”
So what are some of the options?
The widely known LASIK involves creating a flap in the cornea with one laser, lifting it, reshaping the tissue underneath and placing the flap back down.
There’s also PRK, including a zero-contact subtype called TransPRK, which is typically offered to patients not suited to LASIK, such as people with thin or irregular corneas.
“The laser tracks your eye and compensates for movement in multiple dimensions,” Dr Barry says.
“If the patient moves too far away from the treatment zone, the machine stops and waits for the eye to return.”
Despite not requiring vision correction himself, Blink Vision Clinic principal Dr Richard Barry makes a point of experiencing most procedures himself. Photo: Blink Vision Clinic.
Lenticule Extraction, using SmartSight technology, is a third option. Here, a femtosecond laser and a docking mechanism hold the eye in place before precise, automated treatment is performed.
“There’s a moment the machine applies gentle suction to hold the eye in place. You won’t feel pain, but you might feel a small amount of pressure,” Dr Barry says.
“I know this because I’ve experienced it myself.”
Despite not requiring vision correction himself, Dr Barry makes a point of experiencing every part of these procedures, except the laser treatment, for himself.
“Understanding exactly what the patient experiences allows me to talk them through it accurately,” he says.
In Dr Barry’s experience, this knowledge has been key to addressing what many people find is the greatest challenge of laser eye surgery – nervousness or anxiety.
“Laser eye surgery is not painful in the way people expect. The laser doesn’t hurt. We numb the surface of the eye and use a speculum to hold the eyelid open,” he says.
“I take them step by step through exactly what is going to happen before the procedure, so by the time they come in and I’m repeating those steps in real time, they’re prepared and calm, because they’ve already visualised it.”
The longevity of laser eye surgery varies because the cornea continues to change slowly with age. A very small percentage of patients experience regression of a partial return to their original prescription over time, and not everyone is a laser candidate.
“We screen for all risks beforehand. If someone isn’t suitable for laser correction, we may discuss ICL, an implantable collamer lens placed inside the eye without removing any corneal tissue.
“This is a good option for patients with very high prescriptions or corneas that are too thin for laser treatment,” Dr Barry says.
For a different group of patients, typically those over 45 with presbyopia, high long-sightedness, or early lens changes, laser and ICL may not be the best fit either. In these cases, Dr Barry may discuss Refractive Lens Exchange (RLE).
“It’s a different risk and recovery profile to laser treatment, so it’s only ever recommended after a full assessment, and we talk patients through exactly how it compares to their other options before they decide.”
Assessment at Blink Vision Clinic is a staged process: an initial consultation, followed by a second measurement to confirm accuracy and stability before any procedure is scheduled.
“If patients are travelling from out of town, we can arrange measurements closer to the surgery date, but we don’t rush the process.
“For most people, this is a once-in-a-lifetime decision, so the priority is getting it right, not getting it done quickly.”
For more information or to book a free assessment, visit SmartSight.
